The Ties That Bind Us
by Berry's Ambitions
Summary: [One-shot, set after Keep Calm and Flutter On] Suspicious of Celestia's true motivations behind allowing his freedom, Discord pays the sun princess a visit. [Discord/Celestia]


_**The Ties That Bind Us**_

_**By Berry's Ambitions**_

**A/N: After the premiere of KCaFO last week, I was inspired to write for Dislestia. This is the result. Whatever the hell it is.**

**This is my first time writing from Discord's perspective, so forgive me if I royally screwed up his characterization. The same goes for Celestia (who I've written for in the past, but not like this). I'm really iffy about how this turned out, but I didn't see the harm in posting it. Hopefully I won't come to regret that decision, haha.**

**Well... enjoy, I guess. Flames will be used to warm my frigid house. :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own _My Little Pony_.**

* * *

Discord pauses.

Now, this isn't something he does often. Under any other circumstances, he would have disappeared into the night without even batting an eye, but it feels wrong to do that to _Fluttershy,_ who absolutely insisted he stay at her home for at least a short while longer.

Somehow, it feels as if he's deceiving her, even if Discord has no intention to.

He tells himself that it's none of her concern. Just because Fluttershy is his friend doesn't mean she needs to muddle in his personal affairs, after all. Besides, it isn't as if he'll be gone long anyway, depending on how the meeting plays out.

He hovers over the pegasus' sleeping form, contemplating for a moment longer, when a light tapping catches his attention.

Discord grits his teeth and turns, slowly, to face the offender.

"What do _you_ want?" he asks the infernal creature, quietly and irritably.

Angel stares at him with those beady, accusing eyes of his, and Discord decides to humor him. "I should be asking you the same question."

Angel holds up a carrot, raising his tiny eyebrows expectantly.

"It's none of your concern what I'm doing!" Discord snaps, watching Fluttershy from the corner of his eye. She doesn't stir.

Angel crosses his arms.

"The same concept applies to where I may or may not be going." Discord rolls his eyes. "Look, you _must_ have something better to do than interrogate me."

Angel promptly shakes his head.

"Well then - " With a snap of his fingers, Angel's carrot goes from being tightly gripped in his paw to hovering in the air. " - I guess it's up to me to put you back to bed."

Before the bunny can contemplate what's happening, the vegetable clunks him hard on the head. Discord can barely stifle his laughter as Angel stumbles around before sprawling face-first onto the carpet.

Discord grins. Tormenting Fluttershy's pet rodent - or whatever type of animal a rabbit is supposed to be, he'd be damned if he knew - never gets old. But Discord has more important matters to attend to. Matters that have been bothering him since his release only a day before.

He recalls what Celestia had said, why she claimed to have allowed his freedom.

Use for his magic?

_No._

Discord has lived far too long for lies to go over his head, even partial ones. Celestia knows that he can see right through her, and she knows he knows. It's downright _aggravating,_ just like the alicorn herself.

Part of him wonders if this meeting will result in stone encasement. Third time's the charm, after all. The other part can't wait to see the look on Celestia's face.

Naturally, Discord is more interested in the former.

* * *

"Get out."

Her response to his appearance is instantaneous, so much that Discord can't help but chuckle. "It's nice to see you too, Celestia."

Her typically flawless mane is a tousled mess, her crown nowhere in sight. Her hooves, clasping violet sheets, are equally bare. The sun goddess' eyes are annoyed and heavy-lidded, suggesting he'd woken her. "Discord." She speaks in a cold, clinical tone. "It's one o'clock in the morning. If the reason you're here is the one I think it is... it better not be."

Discord smirks, leaning against the doorframe. "I'd say I was sorry to disappoint you, my lovely - " Her gaze noticeably darkens at the term of endearment. " - but, unlike _some_ ponies - " He lets the smirk slide right off his face. " - I speak nothing but the truth."

Celestia straightens, blatant anger in her gaze. Now Discord notices the absence of her necklace, giving her the impression of being naked.

He's partially ashamed of the hot shiver that goes down his spine at this notion.

"You _dare_ imply I'm a liar?" Celestia asks, deadly calm.

Discord snorts in disdain. _"Implying?_ I'm not _implying_ anything, Celestia. It's obvious to both of us that you haven't been entirely honest as of late, don't you think?"

She stares at him for a long time before letting out an exasperated sigh. One quick flick of her head and before Discord knows it, her mane has gone from completely disheveled to its typical flowing state. "I haven't been dishonest about anything," she answers curtly. "I set you free because I have use for your magic, just as I told my student and her friends." When he raises his brows skeptically, Celestia adds, "I can't access your magic without your consent. You know that."

"So you sent Fluttershy - "

"To do what I was incapable of!" Celestia snaps. Ah, there it was. The moment she dropped that annoying hoity-toity princess act. "What I tried to do all those years ago, again and again, without avail. You have no right to accuse me of anything, Discord."

_Typical Celestia. Giving all the answers about the ones you came for in the first place._ He snaps his fingers and re-appears, hovering, only a short distance away from her. "It seems a little abrupt to suddenly need me now, don't you think? You had every intention of keeping me trapped for the rest of eternity, though now that I'm 'reformed' - " Discord uses air quotes on the last word. " - I suppose I can understand why."

"If you understand, then why are you here?" she asks wearily. "Dare I ask."

"Because there are only two of us in all of Equestria who truly understand you, darling - "

"Call me by my first name or nothing at all."

Discord waves his lion paw as if to physically brush off the scolding. "Fine, fine, _my fair princess."_

Celestia narrows her eyes at the mockery but doesn't interrupt.

"As I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me, I'm the only one who understands you as well other than that sister of yours. Celestia..." Discord takes a seat at the edge of her large bed. For the first time, he addresses her with respect. The draconequus has come for the truth, and obviously won't receive it if he keeps up his usual antics. "What's the _true_ reason you revoked my punishment?" _Not that I'm complaining,_ he nearly remarks, but manages to hold his tongue. "The reason you couldn't give in front of your, ah... little subjects."

There's a long, relatively uncomfortable pause.

"Discord," Celestia says at last. "You were released from your stone form to bring balance to Equestria."

Discord blinks. He's unsure how to feel about this, if not confused.

Celestia continues solemnly, "There cannot be harmony without chaos, and vice-versa. It took me a long time to realize that, and it was almost too late when I did." She inhales slowly, then exhales. "There are things that are happening, Discord," Celestia says, sounding wearier than he's heard her in decades. "Things that... things that Luna and I can't manage by ourselves. Things I myself don't quite understand yet." She meets his gaze at last. Celestia not only appears exhausted, Discord notes, but very sad.

It bothers him more than it probably should.

"I don't know what precisely the future holds," Celestia admits, "but I know in my heart that it's something beyond my control, or anypony else's."

"And I suppose you need all the help you can get, then." The words leave a sour taste in Discord's mouth. He doesn't know why. "I see." He stands up, not even bothering with whimsical magic or illusions. "This shouldn't really surprise me at all," he mutters, unsure if he's talking to himself or the princess.

"Discord?" There's a new note of surprise in her tone.

"What?" he demands, still not facing her and having every intention to leave. "Anything else you'd like me to do for you, your _majesty?"_ Discord spits out the last word.

"Discord - " Celestia protests. There's the sound of hooves hitting marble, implying she's actually climbed out of bed.

But Discord isn't finished. "You don't even _trust_ me," he says bitterly. "You think I didn't overhear what you said to Twilight Sparkle? What's the point on keeping me around, then, hmm?"

Celestia steps in front of him. Bathed in moonlight and without her jewelry, she suddenly looks very small. "You said you understood."

"No, that's where you're wrong. I said I understood why you reformed me. In fact, I think I understand it more now than what I did before." Discord can't remember the last time he's been so overcome by fury, let alone betrayal. His eyes sting, but he doesn't let it slow him down.

"Discord - " Celestia warns.

"You think you can just... do whatever you like with me, don't you?" There's a tremor in his voice and Discord loathes himself for it. "You honestly think I'm that same foolish child who followed you wherever you went all those millennia ago? The one who never questioned your decisions and hung onto your every word? Because_ I am not._ You said you sensed a great change in me, well - " Discord made a grand gesture with his arms. " - here it is! And do you now what it's telling me?" The smile that crosses his face is bleak and joyless. _"That I would have been better off encased in stone."_ This final sentence is spoken with utmost deliberation, making sure there is no room for doubt whatsoever.

Celestia stares at him yet again. Judging by her expression, the mare was not at all expecting his little tirade, nor did she know how to respond to it.

When she finally finds her voice, it's wavering.

"You ruined lives, Discord, including any chance we had of sharing one together again," she tells him plaintively. "Yet I _still_ loved you. I never stopped loving you, and I doubt I ever will." There are visible tears in the alicorn's eyes. "Do you know how much pain it caused me to see what you had become? I imprisoned you _because_ I loved you, and that's the same reason why I finally allowed your freedom." Said tears now roll down Celestia's cheeks, her voice finally breaking. "Are you happy now? I-is _this_ wanted you wanted to hear?"

Discord merely watches, feeling more hurt and grief than he has in over a millennium, as Celestia's iron will crumbles before him. She stands right where she is, tricoloured hair concealing her face as silent sobs overtake her.

Discord doesn't know _what_ he wanted anymore, but it certainly isn't this.

He isn't sure what leads him to do what he does next, either. Perhaps it's because he's the only one with enough courage to approach Celestia directly (other than Luna, of course). Perhaps it's because he's never liked making sense anyway, because that's simply who Discord is.

Or perhaps it's the simple fact he's never taken pleasure in Celestia's tears, regardless of the evil he's capable of.

Discord slowly but surely walks towards her - hesitantly, the way Fluttershy once described approaching an injured baby deer.

Taking a deep breath, the spirit of disharmony places his lion paw under her chin, carefully tilting Celestia's face upwards so their eyes can lock; his yellow and uncharacteristically kind, hers lavender and reddened by tears.

Discord uses his talon to tuck her hair behind her ears, looking into both her eyes for the first time since his original encasement.

She is beautiful.

Discord kisses her then, slowly and softly. Celestia tastes just as he remembered - like citrus and sunlight. She lets a little gasp, flinching, and for a split-second Discord braces himself for a hoof to the face.

It doesn't come.

Rather than rejecting the kiss, Celestia applies more pressure to it, causing Discord to actually take a step backward in surprise. She's trembling, and he has the right mind to pull away and ask if she's alright.

This thought is immediately extinguished as they tumble backwards onto Celestia's bed, which Discord now discovers in covered by silken material of sorts.

He feels Celestia's body pressing against his own, soft and warm and radiating heat. This, combined with an all-too-familiar, flowery scent that lingers on her fur, gives Discord a sensation akin to blood rushing to his head.

_This is wrong,_ warns what may or may not be his conscience.

But they are no longer the naive youths they had been once upon a time. Both the chimera and the equine _know_ that what they're doing is careless and selfish - unorthodox, even.

Perhaps that's why they want this - need it, even - in the first place.

Discord feels her shiver as he traces a talon down on her spine, carefully outlining each contour. Their tongues have found each other and intertwine like long-lost friends.

Then Celestia breaks away. Her breathing is ragged, pretty eyes raking over him as if she's never seen him before in her life. Something that couldn't be more untrue.

He isn't sure if it's a good or a bad thing and he doesn't want to find out.

Discord sits up, and - in an incredibly rare act of affectionate - nuzzles his head underneath the princess' neck. Her mane tickles his nose.

"Dizzy..." Celestia begins, breathily.

Heart skipping a few beats at the use of his long-forgotten pet name, Discord shushes her. There's a time and place for talking (much as he enjoys it). Right now isn't one of those times.

Instead, he presses his paw against her chest, guiding Celestia onto her back. She lets out an audible gasp as his lips make contact with her stomach, slowly inching their way upwards until they find her lips once more.

It's almost as if they're virgins again, but Discord knows better. Virgins do not know each others' every pressure point. They do not know how to make their partner scream and writhe with pleasure if they choose to do so, nor do they have the ability.

Discord can do all these things and more, and Celestia... well. Her coat may be pure as snow but her actions speak otherwise.

"I'm sorry," she says quietly as he nips her shoulder.

"For what?"

Her expression is one of resignation. "For what's about to happen."

She kisses him yet again with hot, needy lips; it all happens so fast that Discord can barely process it.

Celestia takes hold of his shoulders and pulls him - quite literally - into her.

Completely caught off-guard, Discord lets out a low moan. She's throbbing and hot and _gods, it's been far too long since he's done this._

It takes him a minute to catch up with her, but Celestia doesn't seem to notice, letting out soft, kitten-like whines. Discord, meanwhile, has to bite down on his lip; he'd always been the more vocal on in the bedroom, so much that he disturbed other ponies who inhabited the palace (ponies who were long-dead by this point, naturally). The only noises he allows to escape are loud, uneven pants, as those really can't be helped either way.

But - as immense and welcome as this pleasure is - Discord can't help but remember what Celestia had said to him only a short while before.

_**"I'm sorry. For what's about to happen."**_

He got everything he came for, Discord thinks, hips bucking forward.

Everything but Celestia's heart.

Discord grunts, feeling another hot chill (oh, how he adores oxymorons) go down his spine, half-listening to Celestia's whimpering. The minutes tick by until finally he arrives, a thousand years worth of tension leaving his body and a growl tearing from his throat in the process.

It should make him feel lighter, happier even, but the sensation is only skin-deep. An echo of what once was.

For Celestia's sake, he gives one last thrust. It works, the princess unravelling with a tremor, squeezing her eyes shut. She looks lovelier than ever, chest heaving in and out, a light sheen of sweat decorating her lithe form.

Yes, she's lovely, Discord muses, and not his.

Never again will she be his.

_**"I'm sorry. For what's about to happen."**_

One thought rings through Discord's mind as he leaves not only her body, but Canterlot Tower itself.

_Not as sorry as I._

**~The End~**

* * *

**A/N: Reviews are like crack to me. Support my habit.**


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